


Mock a Mile in My Shoes

by AnnGry



Series: Sportaswap [1]
Category: LazyTown
Genre: Body Swap, Bodyswap, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-03 12:41:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13341471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnGry/pseuds/AnnGry
Summary: To gain the upper hand over Sportacus, Robbie needs to get into his head. He succeeds, but not in the way he had in mind. The villain and the hero cross wires in a case of mistaken identity.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The TV series "LazyTown" was created Magnús Scheving and is owned by Turner Broadcasting System. This work of fanfiction is solely for entertainment purposes. I do not own the characters depicted in this story, nor do I gain any profit from using them.

Why did he ever think this would work? Robbie dug the hole and covered it up with sticks and leaves. When he heard Sportacus coming he dove behind the wall to get out of sight. Watching with bated breath he marked Sportacus' progress down the street. The annoyingly athletic man ran and jumped and somersaulted on a direct course for the hidden hole.

And like always Sportacus never stepped foot into the perilous pit. He didn't slow for an instant as he tumbled into a hand spring that flipped him upside down in a dizzying spin, _over_ the hole. On the other side he flipped back onto his feet and kept on running.

It was enough to drive Robbie crazy. He couldn't contain himself anymore and jumped out from behind the wall with a frustrated scream. Blinded by his own anger he ran after the elf shaking his fist. So blinded that he stepped right onto the covered hole and fell in, his scream drowned out by the snapping of twigs and his body thumping the bottom with a bang. He shot back out of it up to his shoulders, slapping away leaves and sticks with a roar.

"I just can't figure him out!" Robbie banged his fists on the ground and shook them with a hiss, already sore. "How does he DO that? No matter how I try to hide my trap, somehow Sportacreep always knows to avoid it! Ugh," he grunted, and crossed his arms, sinking down into the pit for a moment. "It's no use, I'll never know what makes him tick. It's not like I can get into his head..."

Robbie crawled out of the hole with difficulty. He continued to stew as he brushed himself off and got to his feet, rubbing his aching back. Something flickered across his face then, dispersing his foul mood.

"Wait." Robbie stood there, staring into the middle space where his thoughts consumed him. "Why couldn't I get into his head? Or even better." A devilish grin stretched his mouth and showed his teeth. "Why couldn't I _control_ what's inside old Sportaloon's head? If I can control what he thinks, I can control what he does. I could make the blue elf make _himself_ leave town, forever!"

All aches and pains forgotten, Robbie allowed himself a prematurely triumphant laugh and strode away from the sight of his last failure. He had just what he needed in his lair.

* * *

When inspired Robbie could put together an invention in no time at all. Some springs and sheets of metal, a hammer and a blowtorch, parts from an old hair dryer and the leftover bits of a broken remote control, and _voilà!_ He had it, the Mind-Me-Matic! He put the headpiece on first, adjusting the band so that it fit snugly without messing up his hair. With that in place all he needed now was to target someone with the main part of the device. It fit in his hand like a gun and it was loaded, ready to fire.

He scuttled around LazyTown, keeping low and out of sight as he searched for his target. Over there! Sportacus had finally stopped all that skipping and flipping and was face down on the ground doing pushups.

It was the perfect setup, none of those meddlesome kids in sight and Sportacus none the wiser. Robbie crept in close and hid in the nearest bush. He stuck the Mind-Me-Matic gun out through the branches, pointing it at the back of Sportacus' head. He followed the up and down movement of every pushup Sportacus executed, keeping his arm steady, not wanting to miss his mark.

Now! Robbie pulled the trigger and blasted Sportacus with the mind rays at point blank range. Already the device was working, feeding Sportacus' brain waves into his headpiece. With this connection he could control Sportacus' mind!

_BZZZTTT_

"YEE-OWW!" The headpiece sparked and shocked Robbie so hard that stars exploded behind his eyes.

"Robbie?" Sportacus flipped over and turned around but swayed and teetered from the force of the machine. He fell back onto one side, weaving under the heady influence. "What's happen...ing...?"

Robbie couldn't answer. As the stars faded from his vision everything was swallowed up in black and he collapsed into the bushes without another word. Sportacus closed his eyes and joined him.

* * *

"Hey guys, is that Sportacus?"

The children, coming back from the sports field after a game of soccer, rushed forward to look at the blue clad man lying unconscious on the ground.

"What's he doing out here?"

"Is he having a sugar meltdown?"

"We can't just leave him here, come on!"

It took all of them to carry the hero to a nearby bench. Trixie tried lifting up one of his eyelids but Stephanie slapped her hand and she gave it up.

"Here, I was saving this for a snack, but it looks like he could use it more than me." Pixel polished the apple on the front of his shirt before handing it over. Stephanie propped up Sportacus' head and managed to wedge the fruit in past his unresponsive lips. Trixie worked his jaw to make him take a bite and chew it.

Within seconds Sportacus' eyes popped open. It worked! Except…

Sportacus spat out the apple, gagging and spluttering.

"Yuck!"

Trixie and Stephanie were shooed back as Sportacus waved his arms around and staggered to his feet. The kids all stared at the mustached man as he wiped his mouth repeatedly. He looked around at the kids and his face twisted into a glowering mask.

"Did you feed me that disgusting sportscandy? Get away from me!"

He stormed off, muttering under his breath.

"Nothing I try ever works! All I get for my troubles is a splitting headache. I'll figure something else out after a good long nap..."

"That was weird," Stingy said. "I've never seen Sportacus act like that before."

"Maybe the apple we gave him was rotten," Ziggy suggested. "I know that would put me in a bad mood."

Nearby the bushes started to shake, drawing their eyes, and who should stumble out from them but—

"Robbie Rotten!"

Robbie looked cockeyed at the kids, then at their surroundings. "Where?" He shook his head and groaned, coughing. The man's face was strangely singed with soot, particularly concentrated at the temples where some kind of device was strapped across his forehead. He took unsteady strides clear of the bush and moved down the sidewalk. "Never mind, I'll find him."

The kids watched Robbie totter away. They looked to each other.

"What was that about?"

* * *

Sportacus couldn't shake the fogginess out of his thoughts. His head ached as though squeezed in a vice and it made it hard just to think. There was the dull burning too right between his eyes, his brain sizzling like a hot coal. Had he exercised too hard and given himself a migraine?

He was sure he'd heard Robbie yell only a moment ago. Did he have something to do with how Sportacus felt now? The kids must have seen the man right before Sportacus woke up from his faint, why else would they have shouted like that? But now there was no sign of him anywhere.

It was too difficult to search on foot when he still felt so groggy. He needed higher ground, somewhere he could survey the whole town at once. It might not be a bad idea to go up to his airship and rest for a while anyway, until he felt a bit better.

Sportacus looked up into the sky. He squinted and winced as the bright blue day stung his eyes all the way into the back of their sockets. Definitely a migraine. But the airship was just overhead offering him relief. He pointed up at it.

"Ladder!" Sportacus commanded.

The airship continued to idle in the sky above him. He waited a moment, but the ladder did not unfurl.

"LADDER!" Sportacus shouted louder. "Platform down! Sky Chaser!"

No matter what he said the airship held still and unresponsive. Every exclamation strained his throat. His voice came out hoarse and deep, much deeper than usual. Perhaps it was interfering with the ship's voice recognition, he didn't even sound like himself. If anything he sounded more like…

Sportacus lowered his gaze from the painful brightness of the sky. He looked at his hand, still pointing up at the airship.

It wasn't his hand.

Sportacus recognized the crisp white French cuff around the wrist, the dark blue sleeve covering it all the way up the arm to the shoulder. As he lowered his eyes he recognized the purple striped vest and matching pants, all the way down to the black and white spats.

The hands that weren't his own started to shake as he brought them to his face. He felt smooth skin on his upper lip and a strong square jaw, well defined. Reaching up he groped for the familiar cover of his blue cap. It wasn't there, but something else was, exerting its pressure around his forehead. He pulled off the remains of a strange looking headband that appeared to be burned and broken. He dropped it to the ground as his arms fell at his sides.

Of course he couldn't command the airship. It only obeyed Sportacus.

It would never listen to Robbie Rotten.


	2. Chapter 2

This was not part of the plan.

Robbie paced across the floor of his lair. His steps were short and fast, not like his normal long legged stride. It wasn't the contemplative stalking he desired so much as a restless trot back and forth to eat up some of the uncomfortable energy inside him. And he had a lot of energy to burn.

He shuddered and quickened his pace but there was no way to outrun reality. The Mind-Me-Matic had given him control of Sportacus, all right. Just not the way he had intended. It took one look in the mirror to confirm his worst fears. He was inside Sportacus' body.

"Stupid blue elf!" Robbie exploded. He jumped at the resounding echo of Sportacus' voice shouting back at him throughout the cavernous chamber. _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_

It would take a while to get used to hearing Sportacus' voice when he opened his mouth. Not that he wanted to get used to _anything_ about this.

He needed to get back to his body. But where had he left it? He vaguely remembered falling into the bushes before waking up in the hero's head. It ought to still be there, then, it wasn't like it could just get up and walk away without him, unless…

The rusty orange speakers dropped down from the ceiling, clamoring out with children's voices. Robbie ran across the room to the control center. Without thinking he vaulted up and over the railing onto the catwalk. It was so effortless in the athletic elf's body, no wonder Sportacus jumped and flipped everywhere. Robbie determined not to do anything of the sort again if he could help it and reached up for the periscope.

The periscope was just out of reach. Robbie stared at the offending object, his head going hot. With a growl he jumped up and grabbed the handle bars. Yanking it down he glared into the view port.

His jaw dropped.

"Guys, look what I found!"

Ziggy pulled the Mind-Me-Matic out from the bushes. The other kids crowded around.

"Isn't it the coolest thing you've ever seen?"

"What is it?" Trixie squinted. "It looks like one of Bessie's hair dryers."

"That's no hair dryer," Pixel said, studying the thing while Ziggy waved it around. "It looks more like some kind of ray gun."

"Wow, cool!" Gripping it in both hands Ziggy jabbed it in front of himself, aiming all around and forcing his friends to step back. "Pew-pew! Take that, space bandit!"

"Let me see it," Stingy demanded. He grabbed for the controller. "I want to hold it."

"Stop it, Stingy," Ziggy protested. The two boys grappled over the controller. "I found it, I should get to play with it first."

Robbie couldn't bear to watch any longer. He shoved the periscope back up and hopped over the railing, hitting the floor at a run. He had to stop those kids before they did anything reckless with that remote.

Wait! He skidded across the floor as he tried to halt his momentum and tumbled head over heels, springing back to his feet no worse for the wear. There was no way he was going up there where everyone would see him looking like _this_. He turned back to the control center, making a bee line for the row of tubes displaying his costumes.

"It's disguise time," Robbie declared. Somehow it didn't have quite the same ring to it coming out in Sportacus' voice.

* * *

 Stephanie crossed her arms and shook her head while Ziggy and Stingy fought over their new toy. They yanked and pulled, spinning around the sidewalk. Pixel had wandered down the path after poking through the bushes for any more ray guns, but there appeared to only be the one. Trixie blew out a sigh through her lips.

"Just let him have it, Ziggy," Trixie said.

"No way," Ziggy grunted, "Stingy always takes my things!"

"Stingy should wait," Stephanie said, "it's Ziggy's to share."

"Ziggy doesn't own it," Stingy said, "he only found it."

"Finders keepers," Ziggy said.

A shrill whistle blew and made the kids cover their ears. They turned towards the source to see an officer in blue striding towards them.

"Not so fast, sticky fingers." The man flashed his badge at the group. "Name's Officer Obtuse, and I'm responding to a noise complaint." He pointed at the ray gun. "Have you got an open carry license for that thing?"

Neither Ziggy nor Stingy said a word, merely staring at him. The officer held out his hand.

"I'm going to have to confiscate that as evidence. Hand it over peacefully and I won't be forced to arrest anyone."

Neither boy moved to comply. The kids kept staring at him.

"Sportacus," Stephanie said, "what are you doing?"

The man looked back at her for a full beat. "I'm not Sportacus," he muttered. How he wished that were true. Robbie felt his face heat up under the scrutiny of the children.

"Why are you dressed like that, Sportacus?" Ziggy asked. "Is this a new game?"

"Can't you see I'm an officer of the law?" Robbie made one last attempt at keeping up the ruse, but it was pointless. Somehow the kids had seen right through the disguise. Was it because of the mustache?

Stephanie put her hands on her hips and smiled at him. "Does this mean you're feeling better? You were acting strange before."

"He's acting pretty strange now," Stingy said, looking him over. "What's gotten into you?"

Robbie shrugged out of his officer's overcoat and stuffed the badge back in its pocket. "Nothing," he said. It wasn't a "what," so much as a "who." Pixel came walking up behind him.

"Hey guys, I found something else. Check this out."

Robbie turned. The gizmo kid was holding the headpiece from the Mind-Me-Matic, the strap in tatters.

"Don't touch that!" Robbie shouted. The kids took a half-step back at the sharp tone and Pixel nearly dropped his discovery.

"Don't worry, Sportacus, it's safe," the boy said. "See?" He shook the thing up and down. Some tiny pieces rattled inside it like a maraca. "I'm pretty sure it's broken."

"Broken?" Robbie's heart filled his throat. "Where… did you find it?"

"Just down the road there," Pixel said. "Robbie must have dropped it, he was wearing it a little while ago."

Robbie, indeed… His heart sank back down, deep into the pit of his stomach. It had been too much to ask for his body to still be lying in the bushes. It was out there somewhere, and it didn't take a neurosurgeon to tell him who was with it.

Trixie snorted. "That headband must have scrambled Robbie's brain. He sure looked confused."

"Do you think Robbie dropped this too?" Ziggy raised the ray gun. Robbie's eyes riveted back on the device.

"That's right," Robbie said, and reached for the controller again. "I came back to get it, so give it here."

"Shouldn't we give it back to Robbie then?" Stephanie asked. The corners of Robbie's mouth twisted around a scowl that made the pencil thin mustache twitch on his lip.

"You leave that to me to handle. Now," he gave his outstretched hand a shake, "give. It. To. Me."

Ziggy hugged the ray gun to himself and hesitated, his brow quirking as he looked up at the grim expression on his hero's face. Slowly he unfolded his arms to relinquish his possession… until his eyes widened and he clasped the remote close again with one hand, pointing at Robbie with the other.

"Your crystal!"

Robbie took in a deep breath and let it out in a low hiss. "My what, now?"

Stephanie joined in on the pointing. "Your crystal's all lit up, Sportacus. Someone's in trouble!"

Now that they mentioned it, there was a faint beeping sound coming from somewhere outside of Robbie's own ears, a ringing that had nothing to do with his rising blood pressure. He glanced down at his chest. Sure enough there was the crystal flashing inside its casement like some kind of laser light show. He glanced back up at all the expectant faces watching him.

"Aren't you going to get that?" Stingy asked.

Robbie grit his teeth together. "I suppose," he growled. As he turned to leave he pointed sharply at the bunch of kids in warning. "Don't try anything with that machine. I'll be back!"


	3. Chapter 3

Sportacus pulled the crank on the mail chute. _Thwoomp!_ It rocketed a metal canister straight up towards the airship. He rubbed the aching muscles in his arm. This was the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth mail tube he'd launched so far. It was hard to keep count when this headache wouldn't let up for one second.

Too many questions crowded his thoughts clamoring one over the other. It seemed safe to assume that Robbie had something to do with this, but where was he now, if not in body but in mind? Could he be inside Sportacus' body at this very moment? Was this part of one of Robbie's schemes? Was it… supposed to be like this? It was hard to believe that Robbie would just allow his own body to be controlled by someone else, least of all by Sportacus. Would he switch them back soon? _Could_ he switch them back?

Better not to think about all of it at once. First thing's first. Sportacus pushed through the fatigue in the lanky limbs and readied the next canister. He raised his face to the sky, squinting through the spots crowding his vision from the sun. Everything in his body— Robbie's body— wanted him to just lie down somewhere and close his eyes. The last time he'd felt anything like this was during one of his sugar meltdowns. Only this time, he was afraid an apple wouldn't fix it so easily.

"Robbie Rotten, what are you sending all those letters to Sportacus for?"

Sportacus turned at the question and let out a sigh of relief. Trixie, Stephanie, and Stingy had found him. "Kids, thank goodness. If I can send up enough of these letters it should overload the airship's ballast and trigger the autopilot to land." He gestured at the pile of tubes still waiting to be sent. "I could really use some help."

Stephanie shared a look with Stingy while Trixie cocked an eyebrow. "Why would we help you do something like that?" Trixie asked.

"What do you want with the airship?" Stephanie asked.

"Leave it alone, Robbie, or we'll tell Sportacus what you're up to," Stingy said, and the girls nodded alongside him.

"But I _am_ Sportacus," Sportacus said, raising a hand to his chest. Where he could always expect to feel the casing for his crystal however there were only the buttons on Robbie's vest and a few links of the pocket chain.

"Yeah, right," Trixie said, rolling her eyes, "sure you are, Sporta _fake_. You're getting lazier than ever, Robbie, you didn't even put on a disguise this time."

"No, really," Sportacus insisted. He couldn't blame them for not believing him when he could barely believe it himself. He certainly couldn't explain it. But could he show them? "I'll prove it to you!"

"This oughtta be good," Stingy muttered, making Trixie snicker. Stephanie kept a straight face but crossed her arms. Sportacus stepped away from the mailbox until he had plenty of room. He shook out his hands and feet and took a breath.

Sportacus crouched into a deep squat. The position made his back twinge sharply, muscles protesting. He ignored it. In one explosive motion he sprung, pumping his arms and swinging his legs to execute a backward flip.

He immediately regretted it. His legs cramped with Charlie horses, his arms overextended and set off stitches across his ribs, and his back contracted into one enormous knot. Sportacus uttered an anguished cry and hit the ground hard.

"Wipe out," Trixie said. To her credit she didn't laugh.

The kids came closer to check on him. Sportacus scraped his palms against the sidewalk as he struggled to rise. The wind had been knocked out of him and for a moment all he could do was catch his breath. He should have known better than to try something that physically taxing in Robbie's body. The man practically creaked when he walked, never mind jumping and flipping.

Trixie and Stephanie took him by one arm each and helped to pull him up. Sportacus winced as they unfolded him from the floor. Once he was on his feet he didn't dare try to straighten his back all the way, rubbing it gingerly. He might have bruised his tailbone on that one.

"Are you okay, Robbie?" Stephanie asked.

"I'm..." Not Robbie. "I'm not sure." The scorn had gone from the children's faces, but it wasn't replaced with any sort of recognition or belief. So much for that gambit.

Stephanie gave his arm a gentle tug. "Come on, you'd better sit down." She led him away from the mailbox, taking small steps to accommodate Sportacus' tender shuffle.

"Don't feel too bad," Stingy said, "but maybe you should leave the stunts to Sportacus." Sportacus grunted, nursing not only a sore body but some injured pride now too. He was a highly trained athlete, an expert acrobat, and now he could barely move at all.

They took him to a bench and set him down. Sportacus shuffled and shifted, unable to get comfortable as the pressure on his spine flared in hot spikes. If only he could get hold of some cold compresses, maybe a hot pack, and stretch out on his bed.

"I have to get up there," Sportacus mumbled.

"You're still trying to get into the airship?" Trixie shook her head. "Just give up, man. Haven't you learned by now to keep your feet on the ground?"

"Why not give it a rest for one day?" Stingy suggested. "You look like you could use it."

"I guess," Sportacus said. He rubbed his stinging palms over his stiff knees. "It doesn't seem like I have much choice." He lowered his head, too weary to keep it up anymore. All of that work sending the mail tubes and then his disastrous tumbling routine had completely sapped him of energy. The desire to lie down was stronger than before. He could use a nap, or maybe some sportscandy.

The kids kept watching him. Stephanie rested a light hand on his shoulder and spoke in a tentative tone. "Hey, I know what might cheer you up. Pixel said he would try to fix your headband for you, and then you can have it back, as long as you promise it's not part of some trick."

Sportacus raised his head a few degrees. "My what, now?"

"You know, that silly thing you were wearing before," Stingy said. "If you don't want it anymore, though, I'll take it for you."

"Oh, right," Sportacus said. He scratched his head where his temples had been singed the worst by the device. He never should have taken it off, what if it was the only way for Robbie to reverse what had happened? What if it wasn't as broken as it had looked? He lurched to his feet, hissing through his teeth from the strain in his back. "Where did you say it was now? No one should touch it."

"Too late for that," Trixie said. "Pixel's probably taken the whole thing apart by now."

Sportacus sat right back down. What good would running to Pixel's house do him now? Not that he could run in his current condition. He'd learned his lesson not to push himself too hard lest he get even more badly hurt. Something persistent and sharp gnawed at his stomach besides his cramped muscles. One thing at a time, first thing's first…

"I need that headband," Sportacus said. He tried to keep the tension out of his face as he looked at the kids. His nose wouldn't stop twitching and it tightened the muscles around his mouth. "Get it for me, please."

"Sure, Robbie," Stephanie said. "We'll see if Pixel's done with it yet."

"Great," Sportacus said, slumping back on the bench, relaxing a fraction. "Thank you."

The kids left him there, heading towards the part of town where Pixel lived.

"He really is off his nut today," Trixie said. "Did you hear him say 'please' and 'thank you?' I wish I'd gotten that on tape."

"He didn't say anything about the ray gun," Stingy said. "Does that mean I can have it?"


	4. Chapter 4

Maybe he could work with this. Robbie crossed his arms, covering the crystal that continued to flash and beep on his chest. He cocked his head back to look up at the roof of Ms. Busybody's house. He could barely keep a straight face.

"Need some help, Mayor?" he called. Up on the roof Milford Meanswell hung from the gutter by his fingertips. The portly man wriggled and grunted, trying and failing to pull himself up to safety.

"Oh, Sportacus, thank goodness. I was cleaning the gutter for Ms. Busybody and I slipped! Could you get me down?"

Robbie leaned against the fence and allowed a lazy grin to grace his face. "I don't think you need any help with that," he drawled.

So long as he was stuck being Sportacus there was no reason he couldn't have a little fun. He would get the Mind-Me-Matic back and figure out how to fix it, of course, but what was the rush? Until then, having the sports elf's body at his disposal might be more useful than he'd first thought.

One of the mayor's hands slipped from the gutter and he swung wildly on the remaining arm. He scrabbled and kicked at the side of the house.

"Oh! Oh my! Sportacus, please, do something!"

Unfolding his arms Robbie stepped away from the fence into the yard. The mayor had been tending Bessie's flower bed before going up onto the roof and left a wheelbarrow full of a mixture of soil and fertilizer. Robbie raised one leg and planted his foot on the cart. With a powerful kick he sent it barreling across the lawn.

The wheelbarrow slammed into the side of Ms. Busybody's house. The back door opened soon after as the woman came out to see what all the noise was about. At that moment Milford lost his grip with his remaining fingers on the gutter and dropped like a stone. He landed in the wheelbarrow, sending up a spray of soil and fertilizer across Bessie's front.

The crystal stopped beeping and flashing. Robbie flicked a speck of dirt off of its casement. "No need to thank me. All in a day's work." He snickered as he turned away, ignoring the indignant squawks from Bessie and the groans from Milford.

Robbie jumped over the fence and clicked his heels before landing. Mischief always energized him, and in Sportacus' body he was wired as a fully charged battery. It was difficult not to break into a run for the sheer thrill of being bad. He could go anywhere in the guise of the hero and do anything. And he knew just what he wanted to do next.

* * *

Pixel lowered his head and scrubbed his fingers through his hair. "I can't make heads or tails of this," he said. He shot an accusatory glare at the headpiece lying on his desk, hooked up to his computer. "It's unlike any code I've ever seen before."

Ziggy stood by the window in Pixel's bedroom with his ray gun clutched in both hands, ready to act at a moment's notice. He'd come along with the computer kid to keep him company and to keep guard against any "space bandits," or Stingy, whichever came first. The little boy turned and looked over at his friend. "What's wrong with it?"

"It's weird," Pixel said. "There's definitely some sort of data stored on this thing but it's encrypted. I've ran it through every analysis I can think of and the most I can get out of it doesn't tell me much. This bit here," Pixel pointed at some of the characters on the screen, "looks like it received an executable file from somewhere and tried to launch it. Then over here," he dragged his finger across the screen, "is a failed attempt at halting the installation for whatever it was, but then it's also sending out some other file here, and..." Pixel leaned back in his chair and sighed. "And then whole thing crashed. It's all mixed up."

"So there's no way to fix it?" Ziggy asked.

"I didn't say that," Pixel said, straightening back up. "But it doesn't look like this part from the headband can function by itself. There's got to be another piece somewhere, something sending and receiving these commands back and forth."

"Oh," Ziggy said. "But you only found one headband, didn't you, Pixel?"

"Affirmative," Pixel said in a grim voice. He swung his chair around and stood up. "I've got one last algorithm running. If I can restart the primary program then maybe it'll give us a clue what it's trying to connect to." He walked across his room to join Ziggy at the window. "It's going to take some time to reformat. What do you want to do until then?"

_Bam!_

Something struck the window and made the glass panes rattle in their frame. Pixel and Ziggy jumped back and took cover against the wall on either side.

"Was that a soccer ball?" Ziggy asked.

They peeked back outside in time to see another object hurtling through the air. Its arc was not high enough to reach the window and instead hit the house a few feet lower. The boys came out from hiding and peered down, watching it bounce and roll off into the street.

"That one's a basketball," Pixel observed.

"Here comes another one!" Ziggy pressed his face against the window and Pixel pushed him aside so that he could see too.

A football cut across the sky in a stellar spiral. It sailed right over Pixel's house and out of sight. The longer they watched, the more sports equipment they saw flying through the air besides the balls. A hockey stick came shooting like a javelin and clattered against the side of Pixel's house. A pair of roller skates tied together by the laces spun around in a crazy dance and wrapped around a lamppost like a bola.

"Someone's launching all that stuff," Pixel said. "Come on, Ziggy, let's check it out. This could be trouble."

"Don't worry," Ziggy said, raising his ray gun, "I've got your back." They rushed out of the house and followed the trail of sports equipment littering the streets.

* * *

Craning his neck Sportacus spied out from around the apple tree. The community garden was empty. With mincing steps he crept in among the vegetable boxes, casting a furtive glance over his shoulder. The kids had been naturally suspicious to see Robbie Rotten by all appearances trying to take down the airship today. It would be easier if they didn't find him here next.

He had to do it, though. He was starving! At the sight of all the vegetables ripe and ready for the picking his stomach gave an anticipatory rumble and the hunger pangs intensified. Having some sportscandy might solve a few of his problems. It was a good place to start, at least.

Slinking up to the first garden box Sportacus looked around one last time before digging in. With one hand he pulled out a bright orange carrot and crunched it up with gusto. With the other hand he plucked a plump tomato off the vine and took a big bite, the juices bursting on his face.

His chewing slowed as he rolled the food around in his mouth. Something about the sportscandy tasted… off. The flavors were not how he remembered them. The carrot should have been sweet, but instead he found himself swallowing a bitter mixture. The tomato too was unusually sour. It wasn't as though they were spoiled, yet they could hardly be called delicious.

Not quite sure yet, Sportacus choked down the last of the vegetables and turned back to the apple tree. One of the branches dipped low enough that he could just reach up and grab the apple dangling down on its stem. He polished it on his vest and looked it over carefully. Its skin was shiny and red, a fine specimen. Slowly he brought it to his lips.

When he bit into it he had to face the truth. Even the apple was grainy and bland on his tongue. That wasn't the worst of it, though. As much sportscandy as Sportacus ate, it did nothing to remedy his flagging energy levels.

It was disappointing but not too surprising. Robbie's tastes were greatly skewed towards processed sugars. The man's taste buds couldn't register the natural sweetness of a fruit or vegetable when they were used to candy and cake. Not only that, it seemed that Robbie's whole body was conditioned to run on refined sugar to get any sort of energy boost.

Maybe Sportacus really was going through a sugar meltdown, but not in the way he was used to. In his own body too much sugar made him weak and sluggish. In Robbie's body, perhaps it was because he didn't have enough! Even his headache could be from a sugar withdrawal. Could it really be that simple? Tossing the apple away Sportacus left the garden to find out.


	5. Chapter 5

Cackling madly Robbie picked up the football helmet and saddled it in the seat of the swing. He backed up and pulled, forcing the chain to creak and stretch, the whole swingset groaning and bending under the power he exerted.

"Bombs away!" he called out, and let go. The swing snapped back like a slingshot and the football helmet careened into the sky. It shrilled a high note from the wind whipping through the face guard, growing fainter as it disappeared over the row of houses a few blocks away.

"Sportacus? Is that you?" Pixel and Ziggy ran into the playground. They found Robbie in the middle of pulling the swing back again with a catcher's mitt loaded in the makeshift sling.

"What are you doing?" Ziggy cried. "That's not how you play with the sports equipment!"

"Who says there's a right way to play?" Robbie pulled the swing back until the every link in the chain strained.

"But it's making a mess," Pixel said. "All that stuff's falling all over LazyTown, it could be dangerous. Just let it go."

"If you insist," Robbie said. He released the swing and the catcher's mitt shot off in a blink. The children gawked, unable to do anything but watch it disappear. They turned their bulging eyes back on Robbie.

"What did you do that for?" Pixel asked.

"What? I'm only playing," Robbie said with a wicked grin.

"But how is anyone going to play any sports with all of the equipment thrown around broken everywhere?"

"Yeah, I don't understand this game," Ziggy said. Robbie glanced at him and narrowed his eyes at the Mind-Me-Matic remote still clasped in the child's hands.

"It's all very simple," Robbie said. "You don't need toys to play. Why don't you put down that ray gun and play with me instead?"

Ziggy's eyebrows did a dance between excitement and apprehension. In the end he couldn't resist an invitation from his hero. He set the ray gun down on the merry-go-round and approached Robbie.

"Good boy," Robbie said, slipping away from the swingset and moving to the seesaw. He patted the empty seat on the lowered end of the beam and coaxed him closer with a big smile. Pixel shifted his stance but held back with an uncertain mumble, yet he could voice no reason for Ziggy to return.

Once Ziggy was settled in the seat Robbie walked towards the opposite end. He stuck a finger in his mouth and pulled it out to test the direction of the wind. Nodding he continued past the seesaw to the slide. Ziggy leaned over to watch him climb up the playground equipment.

"Where are you going? I thought we were going to play."

Robbie crouched at the top of the slide. His smile twisted into a sneer. "Bombs away," he said, and jumped from the slide to the raised end of the seesaw, slamming down on the lever with all his strength.

Ziggy was catapulted out of the playground. Pixel spun in place to keep the other boy in sight. "Ziggy!" he shouted. Ziggy shouted something back but his voice was carried off with him.

Robbie stepped off the seesaw, drawing Pixel's gaze back to him. The man shaded his eyes against the sun as he tracked Ziggy's course over town. He let out a low whistle. "That might be a new record." The crystal on Robbie's chest beeped and flashed. He spared it a glance and made a satisfied sound. "That'll teach him to take things that don't belong to him."

"Why would you do that?" Pixel exclaimed, attracting Robbie's attention. "He could get hurt, you've got to go after him!"

"Maybe I will," Robbie said, already turning his attention towards the Mind-Me-Matic remote. "First thing's first, though."

Pixel stood frozen for a moment, staring wide eyed and agape as Robbie walked calmly across the playground towards the merry-go-round where the controller sat. Snapping back to his senses Pixel bolted forward and cut Robbie off, throwing himself onto the playground equipment first.

"Don't worry about some silly toy, you should be saving Ziggy!"

Robbie stopped and frowned at the boy blocking his way. He grabbed one of the handrails so that the muscles bulged in his arm. Pixel stared back at him, transfixed once more by the uncharacteristically venomous glare on his hero's face.

"I guess I'd better play with you too. All right then, hold on tight."

He wrenched the merry-go-round around and around, spinning it faster and faster. Pixel was pinned down by the centrifugal force, reduced to a howling blur. At some point the ray gun shot off of the ride but Robbie didn't see it. He was having too much fun to notice.

* * *

"We're back," Stephanie called as she opened the door to Pixel's room. Trixie and Stingy came in behind her.

"Where is he?" Trixie asked. They wandered around the empty room. "Why didn't he wait for us?"

"Ziggy's not here either," Stingy noted. He sniffed. "Huh! He took that ray gun with him, too."

"Maybe Pixel took a break," Stephanie said. "There's sports equipment everywhere outside, they could have stopped to play a game."

"It must have been some game," Trixie said. "I'm not going to help them clean it up."

"Hey guys, look," Stingy said, pointing at Pixel's desk. On the computer monitor a message had popped up reading _RESTORATION COMPLETE._ "What do you think that means?"

"Search me," Trixie said. "Pixel's always having computer problems."

"Here's Robbie's headband," Stephanie said. She pulled out the cords connecting it to Pixel's computer. "We'd better give it back to him before he gets any more upset."

"Let me hold it." Stingy shouldered past Trixie with his hands outstretched and making grabby motions.

"Watch it, Stingy!"

"Well, okay," Stephanie said, "but you know you can't keep it."

"I know," Stingy said, his eyes flashing as Stephanie handed the device over. Pixel had taped up the shreds of the band and Stingy immediately pulled it on over his head. "I'll just keep it warm until we give it back to him."

Trixie giggled. "You look ridiculous, Stingy."

Stingy huffed. "That's what you think."

"Do you hear something?" Stephanie asked, standing up straight all of a sudden.

"Hear what?" Trixie asked.

"It sounded like Ziggy."

"Well I don't hear anything."

Stephanie crossed the room and opened the window. She stuck her head out, cocking her ear for any more sounds. They all kept quiet but there was no disturbance. After a few more seconds Stephanie ducked back in and closed the window.

"I'm sure I heard him. It sounded like he was yelling. What if he's in trouble?"

"Like you said, he and Pixel are probably off playing somewhere and that's what you heard," Trixie said. "What could he possibly be doing to get into trouble?"

"You're probably right," Stephanie said, but cast a doubtful look at the window again.

"Let's go find them, then," Trixie said, "and you can see it's all in your head."

* * *

Ziggy flew through the air at a terrific speed. He brushed past clouds and overtook a flock of birds, scattering them in a squawking flurry of feathers. He went so high that he could look down at the roofs of the houses as he sailed over them, leaving the playground far behind.

The boy reached the peak of his arc and began his rapid descent, dropping like a cannon ball. There was no sign of Sportacus swooping in to save him. Was this part of the game? Was this fun? He might have laughed if he wasn't preoccupied with screaming. He closed his eyes when the view of all the houses and yards rushing up to meet him was too much.

Ziggy hit something relatively soft that let out a loud " _Oomph!_ " He'd landed right on top of someone! They fell to the ground together in a heap.

"Ouch..." a deep voice groaned. Ziggy opened his eyes.

"Robbie Rotten!"

"Ziggy?" Sportacus met his eyes. "Where did you— how did you— ? Oof..." He could barely move with the child sitting on top of him. Ziggy scrambled to the side so he could sit up.

"Oh, sorry Robbie! But wow, am I ever glad that you caught me, or that could have hurt!"

"I'll say." Sportacus cracked his back with a growl, then sighed. He slipped on a thin smile. "Let's not do that again, all right? I don't think my body could take it..."

"I definitely don't want to do _that_ again." Ziggy jumped to his feet and wobbled on his knees. "I feel really bad about landing on you. Is there anything I could do to make it up to you?"

"That's okay, you don't have to… Actually, you don't have any candy on you, do you?"

"No," Ziggy said. "But I've got lots at home. You can have anything you want as thanks for saving me!"

"Perfect," Sportacus said. He shambled to his feet. "Let's eat."


	6. Chapter 6

Sportacus unwrapped the candy bar with fidgety fingers. His nose wouldn't stop twitching once he caught the scent of the chocolate. It didn't help to have Ziggy sitting so close to him on the front stoop of his house, watching his every move.

"That's one of my favorites," Ziggy said, "the Choco-Chewy-Cocoa-Crunch Bar! I've got one too, we can eat them together."

"That's nice," Sportacus mumbled, inwardly wincing. It wasn't good to encourage Ziggy to eat so many sweets. His own mouth wasn't exactly watering. If anything it had gone a bit dry. It was only one piece, he told himself, just to see if it worked. He would make it up to both of them later.

Seeing Sportacus' hesitation Ziggy went ahead and took his first bite as though to show him how it was done. He made an indulgent sound through his chews and rubbed his belly. "Mm, is that good. Just what I needed after that scary game..."

Now or never. Sportacus slid the bar in past his teeth and bit down gingerly until it broke apart. He chewed it up fast.

The rich flavor flooded his mouth. His breath caught and his heart skipped a beat. Sportacus swallowed and the melted morsel left an electrifying trail down his throat. Every taste bud sang across his tongue. It pooled in his belly and warmth seeped throughout the rest of his body. A second passed. There were no ill effects. Only good, good… how could it be so good?

He took another bite. A rush of saliva brought a whole new life to the complex flavor profile in the chocolate. His pulse quickened and his fingers tingled, but it was nothing compared to the faint buzzing in his head. It buoyed up his brain, dissolving his headache in a giddy glow.

He'd eaten the entire bar before he realized it. Sportacus licked his lips. "Do you… have any more?"

Ziggy giggled. "Here, you can have the rest of mine." Sportacus didn't mind the bite already taken out of the top. He managed not to yank it out of Ziggy's proffering hand and peeled the wrapper off before slotting the whole thing in his mouth.

"Mm..." Sportacus closed his eyes and breathed out something between a growl and a groan, unaware he'd made a sound. The thick smooth chocolate was interspersed with cocoa nibs that crunched between his molars in bittersweet bursts, only to be soothed and sweetened again with pockets of hearty fudge. The muscles in his face fidgeted madly, cheeks drawing tight in an involuntary smile.

Sportacus could never enjoy a candy to completion thanks to his sugar meltdowns. He never knew it could be like this. No wonder Ziggy had such a hard time giving up the stuff, and Robbie was such a sugar fiend. It was downright addictive. He caught himself licking his fingers and stopped, but oh, it was so hard to stop when he wanted so much _more_.

"I've got some taffy here too," Ziggy said, holding out the box. "I know you like it as much as I do, Robbie. Have as much as you want."

Sportacus bit his lip. The chocolate still coated the inside of his mouth in a velvety layer. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the colorful saltwater taffy. His stomach rumbled in an insistent way. How would it be, to eat a piece of taffy from start to finish? He clenched his fists only for them to spasm open so he could grab some of the sticky sweets.

Between the two of them they polished off the whole box in a matter of minutes. Sportacus sat with a storm of conflicting feelings churning inside him, satiety being the strongest.

"Ziggy," Sportacus managed to say around his mouthful of taffy, "what game were you talking about?"

"Oh," Ziggy grunted, stretching a bright blue wad between his teeth, "I was playing with Sportacus before."

Sportacus swallowed, the last glob of gooey confection reluctant to travel all the way down his gullet. "Were you, now?"

"Yeah, at least I think so." Ziggy looked down at the empty box on his lap. "At least, he said we were. But it was really scary getting sent up that high without an airplane or a parachute or something. I don't know why he didn't come and catch me..." The boy looked up at Sportacus. "But you did, Robbie! So everything's okay!"

Sportacus sat motionless and mute. Ziggy tilted his head after a few silent seconds.

"What's wrong? Do you have a tummy ache?"

It took another beat for Sportacus to rise to his feet. "Where is he now?" he asked.

"Still at the playground, I think," Ziggy said, getting up with him. He nibbled on a finger. "Pixel was there too. Gee, I wonder if Pixel was— Hey," Ziggy said as Sportacus walked away from him, "where are you going?"

"A walk in the park," Sportacus muttered, and would say no more. He stalked forth with long strides, his shoulders tensing up and his fists swinging at his sides. Ziggy set down the empty taffy box and ran to catch up with him.

* * *

Stephanie cupped her hands around her mouth. "Ziggy! Pixel! Where are you?"

Trixie kicked a broken tennis racquet out of the way as she, Stephanie, and Stingy walked down the sidewalk. "They must be hiding after breaking all this stuff. They are gonna be in so much trouble."

Stingy gasped and pointed towards the playground. "Look!" The girls turned their heads in tandem at his shout.

"Do you see them? Where?"

"No," Stingy said, and ran ahead. "It's— it's— the ray gun!"

He dove under the bench, rustling through the tall grass. With a triumphant laugh he came back out holding the device.

"Now I have both," he gloated. He spared a second to adjust the headpiece on his forehead before turning the ray gun over covetously, checking every inch of it.

"But how did it get here?" Stephanie asked. "Ziggy was supposed to be keeping it safe."

A soft moan drew their attention deeper into the playground. Stephanie and Trixie followed the sound while Stingy lagged behind, more absorbed in buffing a scratch off his newest acquisition. The girls let out a shared gasp to find Pixel draped across the merry-go-round.

"Pixel!" Stephanie rushed to his side and touched his shoulder. "Are you okay?" She helped pull Pixel into an upright position. Pixel let out another groan as his head wove around on his shoulders and he clutched the handrail for support.

"What happened to you?" Trixie asked with a laugh. "You look like your head's come unscrewed."

"It… was Sportacus," Pixel said.

"What do you mean?" Stephanie asked.

"He… he's completely out of his mind!" Pixel threw both arms up into the air and his body leaned over of its own accord until the girls helped push him back up straight. "He shot all the sports equipment off the swingset, and then he had Ziggy sit on the seesaw, and—" He slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand. " _Boom!_ Straight out of the park!"

"Woah, really?" Trixie's eyes lit up with interest. Pixel nodded.

"Poor Ziggy, he sounded so scared, and Sportacus didn't even care!"

"That doesn't sound like Sportacus," Stephanie said, wrinkling her brow.

"It's true! All he cared about was that ray gun of Robbie's."

"You mean this one?" Stingy flourished the machine. Pixel's eyes widened and he grabbed the handrails on the merry-go-round again.

"You'd better get rid of that thing fast before Sportacus finds you with it."

"No way," Stingy said, "I found it, so it's mine now. I mean," he amended, darting his eyes at Stephanie's and Trixie's stern looks, "until we give it back to Robbie."

"Wait," Pixel said, leaning forward to squint at Stingy. "What are you wearing? How'd you get that headband?"

"We stopped at your house," Stephanie said. "You were done with it, weren't you? Robbie really wants it back."

"I think Sportacus wants it more," Pixel said.

"But that doesn't make any sense," Stephanie said.

"I know," Pixel said, "I don't know! He's just been acting so crazy today."

"Where is Sportacus?" Trixie asked. Pixel shrugged.

"I got stuck on the merry-go-round and by the time it finally stopped he was gone." At the mention of his ordeal Pixel got up slowly from his seat on the playground equipment. "He can't be far, he'll be looking for that ray gun. We've gotta get out of here!"

"Don't be silly, Pixel," Trixie said. "Why don't we just give him the toy?"

"It's _not_ just a toy," Pixel said. "It's making Sportacus act weird and it's got Robbie Rotten all over it. I don't think _either_ of them should have it."

"Does that mean I can keep it?" Stingy asked. Pixel made a frustrated sound.

"No! No one should touch any of it!"

"Well, it's about time one of you listened."

The kids all turned towards the sound of Sportacus' voice. The blue clad man stood less than a hundred yards away with Stingy's small yellow car lugged under his arm, propped against his hip so that it dragged on its rear tires.

"I told you not to touch that."

 


	7. Chapter 7

"Sportacus," Stingy sputtered, "what are you doing with my car?"

Robbie considered Stingy with a cool look. He should have known one of the brats would find the remote again. He'd wasted time knocking over trash cans and turning a couple goalie nets upside down in his own futile search. By the looks of it the gizmo guy had fixed his headband for him, too. The kids had been passing his Mind-Me-Matic around like a game of hot potato all day. It was about time they got burned.

"Care to make a trade?" Robbie proposed, coming closer. "I should warn you, though," his teeth peeked out in a wolfish grin as he hefted Stingy's car up off the ground in both hands, "I drive a hard bargain."

Stingy's eyes bugged out. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Those things don't belong to you," Robbie said. "Give them to me."

"Don't, Stingy," Pixel hissed. Stingy's lower lip started to jut out in a pout.

Stephanie took a tentative step forward. "It's okay, Sportacus, we're taking all this stuff to Robbie just like you wanted. You don't have to—"

"No," Robbie cut her off, his grin vanishing. He lifted the car and braced it against his chest, glowering over its bumper at the kids. "Are your ears painted on your heads? I said hand them over or there's going to be an automobile accident happening very soon."

"Geez, Sportacus, chill out," Trixie said. "You wouldn't wreck Stingy's car, would you?"

Robbie narrowed his eyes at the pigtailed girl. He raised the car up over his eye line, glaring out from its undercarriage. "Wouldn't I?" The kids shifted under its shadow, shrinking in together. "Unless you think you can catch it."

Stingy whimpered, eyes riveted on his car looming over his head. The ray gun was clamped tightly in his grip, all but forgotten. Pixel reached towards Stephanie to draw her back but she resisted, holding her ground, although her face had paled substantially.

"I don't understand," the pink girl said, "why are you doing this?"

Something cruel twisted the corners of Robbie's lips. Pixel closed his eyes, unable to look at him any longer.

"Who's going to stop me?"

"Robbie!"

Robbie jolted on the spot and almost dropped the car on his feet. He managed to keep his grip and jerked his head to the side to see who had called. It had been a child's voice, but weren't all of the kids here at his mercy?

"Wait for me, Robbie!" Ziggy shouted between pants for breath, running as fast as his little legs could carry him, but he was still falling behind the man in the purple striped suit.

Robbie stared, scarcely able to comprehend what he was seeing. It was himself, in the flesh! The oddity of watching his body rushing towards him was enough to make his head spin but the look on his own face, contorted in anger, kept him rooted to the spot. It might have been validating to know just how intimidating he looked from the outside if he wasn't the target of that concentrated rage.

"What," the approaching Robbie Rotten growled, and it was so disturbing for Robbie to have his own deep voice roaring in his ears and raising the hairs on his neck, "do you think you're doing with those kids!"

Robbie said nothing. He let the car drop from his hands and it hit the ground with a crunch, earning a strangled squawk from Stingy. He turned away and ran, and the Robbie Rotten ran after him.

* * *

Ziggy joined the rest of the kids in the wake of the two men, gasping and wheezing.

"Ziggy, you're okay!" Pixel exclaimed. Ziggy bent over double to catch his breath.

"I… never knew… Robbie could run like that..." He swallowed mouthfuls of air. "Whoo… I could use some more candy."

"What was _that_ about?" Trixie asked. "Why would Sportacus run away from Robbie?"

"Who cares about that? What about my car?" Stingy knelt beside his totaled vehicle. The front fender was all bent out of shape and one of the side view mirrors had snapped off.

"Oh, Stingy." Trixie shook her head, then waved her arm to beckon Stephanie along as she broke into a trot. "Let's go after them. Come on, Pinkie!"

"Wait up, Trixie!" Stephanie hovered around Ziggy for a second but her curiosity pulled her after the other girl.

"Hey, wait!" Stingy called, but they were off. He stood up from his car and grumbled. "Sportacus better have some good insurance." Adjusting his grip on the ray gun he ran after the girls. Pixel was close behind him. Ziggy took in a few more big gulps of air. He groaned and went after the group.

* * *

Sportacus chased after himself. The blue suited renegade darting and weaving in front of him was tinged slightly red in his vision by his maddened state. From his march to the park Sportacus had seen evidence of Robbie's actions today using his body. He could forgive all of that to an extent. Robbie would be Robbie, and it wasn't wholly unexpected that he should get some mischief in at Sportacus' expense. But he had gone too far. How could he, how dare he do anything that would seriously endanger any of the kids?

If it wasn't for his sugar high it probably wouldn't be possible for Sportacus to make Robbie's body run like this, certainly the lazy man had never wanted to push it this hard before. But Sportacus wanted to. He pushed through the stitches flaring in his ribs, pounded sore feet against the sidewalk and extended long cramped legs to their full reach, and let the air tear through his gasping lungs in snarls.

He should have found Robbie right from the start, but it was too late for that now. Now, he would do the next best thing and catch the impostor elf.

* * *

Robbie did not want to know what would happen if Sportacus managed to catch him. He'd seen the hero angry at him before but it was a new and harrowing experience to be pursued by a vengeful doppelgänger. At least sprinting off in Sportacus' body was a breeze— mostly. After a full day of throwing his ill-gained strength around Robbie may have overexerted himself. He was running low on energy.

Even running flat out wasn't enough anymore, and Sportacus was gaining on him. Was there nowhere he could escape to that the crazed elf couldn't follow? If only he could get some of his lead back and divert a little of his dwindling energy to thinking.

Behind him Sportacus lunged forward with outstretched arms and managed to graze Robbie's back with his angled fingers. It wasn't enough to grab hold of his vest but the scrape of fingernails lit a fire under Robbie's feet. He tapped into a last panicky reserve and leapt forward, flinging himself entirely off the ground as though he could take off and fly away from his problems.

The well conditioned body took control for Robbie when he needed it most, reaching out and rolling into a tumble when he touched back down on the ground. It didn't make him any less dizzy as he jumped back up on his feet but at least he was unharmed from his last gambit to get ahead. He heard a shout and a _thud_ behind him. Robbie glanced back to see what had happened. He had to stop in his tracks and look again.

It was the pit he'd dug this morning. Robbie had jumped clear over it without even thinking. Sportacus, on the other hand, had not.

Robbie drew closer to the edge of the hole, staring in as a wave of déjà vu washed over him to see his own body sprawled in a heap at the bottom. "Does that count?" he murmured. All he'd wanted from the beginning was for Sportacus to fall into his trap, and finally he did— but he'd done it while being Robbie Rotten, so technically— but still, maybe? The adrenaline from the chase had Robbie bouncing on his feet while confusion kept him from leaving. With a hysterical laugh he broke into a dance around the pit.

* * *

"That counts! That counts!"

Sportacus could hear the sound of his own voice jeering over his head. He didn't understand what it meant and couldn't be bothered to figure it out. His immediate concern was taking stock of all his limbs. He'd received a few more bumps and scrapes and had the wind knocked out of him for the second time that day from the nasty fall.

None of it mattered. Sportacus lumbered to his feet, driven by the blood pounding in his ears. The rim of the hole was just above his shoulders and gave him a clear view of the spectacle going on at its edge. He shot his arms out and grabbed the blue suited man by the ankles, yanking him hard off his feet. The man hit the ground flat on his back, nearly knocking the cap off his head.

"Got you now," Sportacus growled, and pulled himself up out of the pit.


	8. Chapter 8

Robbie kicked and flailed at Sportacus, trying any means to push back his assailant, but he already knew he'd lost the fight. Sportacus grabbed fistfuls of the front of Robbie's vest, securing his advantage. The crystal flashed and beeped and Sportacus shot a bewildered glare down at it before returning his full attention to the man in his body.

Robbie mustered up a meek grin that strained around the edges. "Someone's in trouble," he squeaked. Only one guess who it was.

"Get away from him!" Trixie shouted, running towards the entangled men and leading the charge for the rest of the kids.

"Leave him alone!" Stephanie yelled, and Stingy and Pixel raised their voices with hers. In a stampede they swerved around the hole in the ground and all together threw themselves at Sportacus. Their combined onrush was enough to dislodge him from his seat over Robbie and knock him to the ground.

Robbie sat up and stared at the scene unfolding before him. Trixie and Stephanie had Sportacus' arms locked while the boys focused on pinning his legs. Sportacus looked just as confused by the interference as Robbie.

"What are you kids doing!" Sportacus grunted.

"We won't let you hurt Sportacus!" Trixie said.

"He has to be stopped!" Sportacus squirmed and nearly heaved himself upright until the kids managed to press him down again. He grated out an aggravated noise while the frustration reddened his face and screwed up his expression all the more. "Can't you see he's dangerous?"

"Sportacus may have wrecked my car, but he's still _my_ friend," Stingy declared.

"That's right," Pixel said. "No matter how weird Sportacus has been acting he's all our friend and we'll always be there for him."

"Yeah," Trixie said, "maybe Sportacus hasn't been the coolest today, but if he needs our help he can count on us."

Stephanie looked over at where Robbie still sat in a stunned silence. "Go on, Sportacus, get going! We'll deal with Robbie."

That was enough to snap Robbie out of his spell. He got up on shaky legs but continued to stand there, unable to look away from the kids dogpiling the agitated man in the purple suit. All thoughts had abandoned him, leaving him dumb and dazed. "Where should I go?" he asked.

"The airship," Stephanie said, then had to double down on her efforts to keep Sportacus restrained as the mention of the dirigible set the man to thrashing with renewed vigor. "Go!"

Robbie dragged his feet, taking one last look before making himself move. He shifted into an awkward jog and left them all behind him.

It wasn't difficult to find the airship on such a clear day. Robbie squinted up at it with a frown. "Just perfect," he said to no one. "A lot of good it does me without a ladder."

Something shifted on the silvery underside of the airship and within seconds a spindly rope ladder cascaded down on top of Robbie's head. He fumbled with the swinging thing until he got it under control. His heart skipped as he planted a foot on the first rung and began his flustered climb up. It was a small mercy that with Sportacus' body he had just enough strength remaining to make the ascent in record time.

* * *

"No," Sportacus moaned, "you're letting him get away!"

"That's enough, Robbie," Stephanie scolded him. "You need to give up catching Sportacus once and for all."

"That'll never happen," Stingy said.

"Let's push him back in the hole," Trixie suggested.

"Guys, stop!" Ziggy gasped, running on his last legs and late to the party. "Don't— be mean— to Robbie!" He collapsed on the ground, totally winded. Pixel jumped up and went to check on him.

"Take it easy, Ziggy. Robbie was seriously going after Sportacus just now, we had to stop him."

"Robbie's always got it out for Sportacus," Trixie said with an eye towards the man. "He doesn't know how to do anything else."

"But he helped me!" Ziggy exclaimed. "When Sportacus sent me off the teeter-totter, Robbie saved me! He's not all bad, guys, please?"

Stephanie relaxed her hold and sat back, passing an unsure glance between Ziggy and Sportacus. "He really did that?" she asked. Ziggy nodded. Stephanie gave Trixie a look and the pigtailed girl reluctantly surrendered her hold as well.

"That doesn't sound like Robbie," Stingy muttered, but unclasped his arms from around the man's legs. He checked how his headband was fitting on his head after the group tackle and inspected the ray gun for any new scratches. "Sportacus hasn't been sounding like himself much either, though."

"Yeah," Ziggy said with a sigh.

The glum sentiment was shared by all. Sportacus sat up slowly while the kids watched his every move, but the fight had gone out of everybody. At least, until Ziggy took a second look at Stingy.

"Hey, wait, Stingy, what are you doing with my ray gun?"

"Your ray gun?" Stingy scoffed. "Don't you mean _my_ ray gun? After all, finders keepers."

"Don't you mean _Robbie's_ ray gun?" Trixie prodded Stingy in the side and he hopped to his feet to scamper away from her. Ziggy went after him. Sportacus rose with the rest of the kids but could not be quick about it after taking so many knocks all day. He couldn't begin to chase the kids around to get the machine when Stingy wouldn't stop moving out of Ziggy's reach.

"Kids, be careful with that—"

"I barely even got to play with it!" Ziggy complained. "Why do you get to have everything now?"

"Because I'm not the one who lost it. Besides," Stingy said, posing with his hand to his forehead, "it's a matching set."

"Then I want the headband too!"

"Nuh-uh, it's _mine_."

"Guys, they're not toys," Pixel said, "stop messing around."

"They belong to Robbie," Stephanie said, "it's time to give them back, Stingy."

"Not to Robbie," Pixel said, shaking his head. Stephanie put her hands on her hips.

"But Pixel—"

"Go on, Ziggy, show Stingy what you're made of if he isn't going to share," Trixie egged on the squabbling boys. "Who's going to get it?"

Ziggy made a grab forward and caught the barrel of the ray gun but Stingy held firmly to the grip. They tugged and heaved against each other and shuffled around on the sidewalk. They both pulled strange faces as they fought each other for possession of the device, eyes locked in a heated battle.

"Let me have it, Stingy!"

"Fine!" Stingy snapped. He pulled the trigger on the ray gun.

_BZZZTTT_

Something passed between Stingy and Ziggy like an arc of electricity. All struggling ceased and they each took a half step back as though repelled. The boys stood there staring at each other, deep in a trance. Everyone held still with them while the seconds dragged by with no further development.

"Uh, guys?" Stephanie exchanged a glance with Pixel. "Everything okay?"

Ziggy blinked rapidly. His eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped open. Pointing at Stingy he screamed.

"Wait a second, that's _me!_ " His shriek stuck in his throat and he raised his arms to look at himself. He screamed again. "I'm— _Ziggy?!_ "

The screeching revelation set off a twitch in Sportacus' eyebrows and he closed his eyes against the tic. He could feel another headache coming on…

Stingy looked down at himself and up at Ziggy. He felt the headband around his forehead and held the ray gun up close to his nose so that he had to cross his eyes. His face lit up with wonder.

"Woah, am I inside Stingy? This is so cool!"

"It's not _cool_ ," Ziggy shouted, hopping up and down. "You can't be me, _I'm_ me! I don't want to be _you!_ Get out, get-out-get-out-give-it-back-give-it-give-it!"

The smaller boy rushed at Stingy and grabbed for the ray gun. Stingy tried to swing around to block but couldn't evade completely. He stretched his arms out in a vain attempt at keeping the device out of Ziggy's reach, pointing it at Trixie. Somewhere in the middle of the tussle he squeezed the trigger.

_BZZZTTT_

Ziggy jumped back from Stingy, looking from him to Trixie with wild eyes. "Who am I now?" he asked. Stingy and Trixie stood facing each other for a long moment. The girl's eyes came back from staring off to nowhere first and her face broke out in a wide grin.

"Look at me now!" Trixie laughed and waved her arms. "I'm Trixie now, this is _awesome!_ "

Stingy was looking himself over again. He tapped the ray gun in the palm of his hand and cast a low-lidded glance at Ziggy. "Looks like you're sharing now, Stingy." Ziggy's face went red in a pout and he stomped his feet.

"Trixie, get out!"

"I would if I knew how, you think I want to be you?"

Stephanie's eyes tracked between Stingy and Ziggy, Ziggy and Trixie, Trixie and Stingy— her hands drifted up to her head to massage her temples. Sportacus sighed in sympathy. Pixel's expression remained blank for the longest time as he looked at his friends until finally the light bulb went off and his eyes widened. He looked at Sportacus with a new understanding, meeting the man's long suffering gaze.

"Oooh… I get it now."


	9. Chapter 9

This was not part of the plan. In fact, there no longer was a plan.

Robbie blundered around inside the airship, tripping and skidding over a rolling mass of mail tubes strewn across the floor. He managed to make it over to one wall and slid down, his legs giving out from under him. He wrapped his arms around his bent knees and stared at the bright interior of the gondola.

He'd trapped himself up here. Robbie had plenty of experience infiltrating Sportacus' airship and he knew how temperamental the controls could be. Touch the wrong thing, make a wrong move, and he could send the ship into a tailspin. Climbing back down that spindly ladder was not an option— climbing all the way up had been bad enough for a man afraid of heights. He was stuck.

Now that he was alone and out of immediate danger, everything that had happened came rushing in on Robbie's thoughts all at once. He replayed the moment over and over again in his mind, trying to figure it out, but he didn't understand.

He had embraced masquerading as Sportacus and doing everything he could think of to ruin the hero's reputation. He'd turned LazyTown upside down with his bad deeds. The looks on those kids' faces— priceless! For a moment there it had looked like they were actually afraid of him, afraid of _Sportacus_. Who would want a crazy and dangerous elf hanging around after all of that?

Apparently everybody.

It wasn't fair. Why would they still like Sportacus after all the things that Robbie did today? Was it really because they were his friends? Robbie had underestimated the power of rapport between the children and their hero. Why did he ever think this would work?

Even when Sportacus managed to catch him the kids had stopped him— they stopped _Robbie Rotten_ from helping them. Why? Did they distrust him that much? Not that he didn't give them good reason, but still… was it really because they weren't his friends?

"Stupid blue elf," Robbie muttered. He let his head drop and rest against his arms.

" _Sportacus, your energy readings are low._ "

Robbie jerked in place, his head snapping back up. Where had that voice come from? "Hello?" he asked the air.

" _You've missed your midday snack. Sportscandy will restore your energy._ "

Robbie pushed himself up against the wall, rising back on his feet as he looked around. He couldn't pinpoint the speaker. Was it… the airship? That would figure for Sportacus to have an AI installed on his aircraft, probably to remind him to do his stretches or eat apples or whatever. It certainly wasn't something Robbie would ever have in his lair. His lair was a place of solitude, somewhere he wanted to be _alone_.

Right now, though… Robbie glanced around at the blank white walls and cleared his throat. "Where is the food?" he asked, already feeling ridiculous. He was used to talking to himself, but this was something else.

The voice did not answer, responding instead with a _shooshing_ noise as an oblong table swung out of the wall. He approached it only for his curiosity to be dampened. Nothing but fruits and vegetables covered the table.

What he wouldn't give for a giant slice of cake! He would stuff himself silly with sugary sweets if only there were any to be had on this infernal airship. Of course that would mean putting Sportacus' body into a sugar meltdown. Knocking himself unconscious to satisfy his sweet tooth probably wasn't the best idea. Especially not with the nanny AI breathing down his neck.

"On second thought, I'm not hungry," Robbie said. The airship obliged him and sent the table shuttling back into the wall.

" _Would you like to engage the calisthenics program to work up your energy?_ " the voice asked.

"What do I look like, a jumping bean?" Robbie grumbled, and caught himself with a scowl. "At least there aren't any mirrors on this tub. I'm glad I can't see myself right now."

At his words a mirror flipped out from the wall by his shoulder. He jumped away from it before realizing what it was. Sidling back over he glared into the glass.

His reflection nearly sent him scuttling away again. First he'd seen his own face disfigured with rage today. Now the image of Sportacus' face portraying his own contempt and disgust was so far out of the hero's character that it had nearly scared Robbie right out of his head. He hadn't even thought it was possible for Sportacus to look this grouchy and nasty when he always had that silly grin on his face.

The longer he looked the angrier the face became looking back at him. The silly pencil mustache twitched on his lip. He was sick of being Sportacus! He stuck out his tongue so that the grimacing face turned impish in its severity.

"Look at me," he said, hating the voice that wasn't his own. "I'm Sportacus, Mr. Flippety-Flippety-Flippety-Flip. If I tried to just walk anywhere my feet would fall off."

Hearing Sportacus say something like that, even if it was Robbie's doing, offered a mean little glimmer of comfort deep in his chest. It was the only thing left to him that he could do.

"I have sportscandy for brains and my muscles are full of air!"

That felt better. Some of the tension eased out of his face as he warmed up to his newfound game. He pulled on an expression of feigned dismay.

"I'm not a super hero, I'm a slightly above average _zero_. I'm no match for Robbie Rotten. Robbie is the greatest villain! I wish I could be him..."

He stopped and stared while a hot surge of shame burned through his cheeks. Some lies were too big even for him to pull off. As if Sportacus would ever want to be Robbie. They'd been saddled with each other's bodies for a day, and Sportacus had hardly looked happy about it when they finally crossed paths.

Not that Robbie was happy about being Sportacus either. He'd never wanted to be him… Even if Sportacus had so much more than he did. Sportacus was fast and strong, insanely strong. He could even get away with being rude and downright dangerous to the rest of the people in town, and they would forgive him, because Sportacus was everyone's friend. Everyone's… except for Robbie.

It was weird gazing for so long into the mirror, staring into those steady blue eyes, as though Sportacus was actually standing there looking back at him.

He spoke softly, watching Sportacus' mouth move and hearing him talk to him.

"Hi, Robbie, it's me, Sportacus. I… want to be your friend..."

A suffocating flush suffused his face. He couldn't look anymore. Robbie slapped a hand out at the mirror until he figured out how to swing it back around so that it returned to its seat within the wall. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. The glimmer in his chest throbbed like a red hot coal. He clasped a hand to it as though he could pull the painful thing out. All he found was the crystal in the center of his uniform, warm against his palm.

Stupid…

Maybe he could finally do the one thing he'd been trying to do all along. He could make Sportacus leave LazyTown forever. If not in mind, at least in body. He would just have to get over his fear and figure out how to pilot the airship without crashing it. Even if it meant being stuck as Sportacus forever too.

What would become of his own body, though, and of Sportacus? It wasn't too late to switch them back into their proper bodies with the Mind-Me-Matic. But that would mean going back down there and facing those kids again, facing Sportacus… and himself. Didn't he want to go back to being himself? Robbie Rotten, the baddest guy around, someone that nobody wanted to be friends with even when he was being controlled by the most beloved person in town.

Before he could make up his mind something shot up out of the floor and struck the ceiling. _Bam!_ A metal canister clattered among the rest of the tubes already littering the floor. Robbie stared at it, slow to comprehend its significance.

" _More mail incoming._ "

The airship's AI gave him no further warning before the next mail tube shot up into the airship followed closely by another and another. They pinged off the ceiling and bounced off the walls in an endless barrage. Robbie picked one up and took off the cap to peer inside but it was empty. All of them were.

Robbie kicked the tubes away from himself as they rolled across the floor, their numbers burgeoning. It was impossible to ignore them but there was nothing he could do about them. The airship moved under his feet like a rocking boat. The masses of metal tubes clustered around his ankles, covering the entire floor in a rolling wave.

" _Onboard cargo exceeding maximum weight limit. Sportacus, we are losing altitude._ "

"Then do something about it," Robbie sputtered. "Doesn't this thing have an autopilot?"

" _Autopilot engaged. Preparing to land._ "


	10. Chapter 10

The airship touched down in the clearing just outside of Lazy Woods. The door swung down into a platform that lay flat against the ground. A mess of mail tubes rolled out all clicking and clacking, a continuous and deafening outpouring until the vessel had disgorged the majority of its burden.

Once everything had stopped moving and all was quiet Robbie peeked out through the doorway. He almost tripped on a straggling canister on his way out of the airship while he whipped his head from side to side looking for any signs of other people. He was alone, for now. That wouldn't be the case for long but he took the time to stand still for a few seconds just appreciating the solid earth under his feet. He resisted the urge to drop down and kiss it.

They were a few seconds dearly spent, just enough time for the sound of pursuit to reach his ears. Children's voices drifted through the trees. "It landed over here. This way!" Their approach made the foliage shake and whisper on the trees and shrubs along the edge of the clearing. Robbie took a couple steps one way and a couple in another, and stopped. They had him surrounded, and besides, he was tired of running.

The kids came out of the tree line and saw Robbie at once. Running forward they formed a semicircle around him and let the airship complete the ring, securing his capture. Robbie could find nowhere neutral to look with all of their eyes on him, pinning him down like a bug under a microscope, and their expressions ran the gauntlet for such a subject. Stingy's mouth was scrunched up in distaste while Trixie had open fascination writ across her face. Stephanie and Ziggy were wide-eyed with wariness if not outright apprehension. Pixel had the hardest stare, a hybrid of anger and triumph.

The tension in the space between them was silent and suffocating. At last Ziggy spoke up and put a merciful end to the standoff. "Is that really you, Robbie?" he asked.

Robbie had to laugh, even if it was short lived. He held up his hands in a shrug. "Who did you expect, Sportaflop?"

"That is so weird," Trixie said, letting a chuckle slip out.

The foliage swayed and whispered again with one last person's approach. Without breaking their line the kids looked to see the late arrival. Sportacus walked into the clearing. He wore the Mind-Me-Matic headband and held the ray gun in one hand, looking every bit the villain.

"We got him, Sportacus," Pixel said. The kids shifted to allow enough room for Sportacus to join the semicircle. He nodded and gave Pixel a pat on the shoulder.

"Good work, Pixel." He nodded at the rest of the kids. "I couldn't have done it without all your help. Thank you."

Trixie snorted, unable to hold back another giggle. "Man, there is just no getting used to that."

"I'll say," Stingy said.

"Let's get this over with," Robbie said with a sigh.

Sportacus consulted briefly with Pixel. He stepped forward into the inner circle with Robbie. Robbie fought every impulse to fidget and squirm as Sportacus raised the ray gun and pointed it directly in his face. Why had he designed the remote to be so threatening? He saw Sportacus' finger twitch, squeezing the trigger, and couldn't help closing his eyes.

_BZZZTTT_

There were no exploding stars behind his eyelids, no burning shock coursing across his temples. At least Pixel had fixed that flaw in the invention. Robbie swayed on his feet, his inner ear doing cartwheels to make his head reel. That was when the pain came, an all over assault on every muscle, aches and sprains and scrapes, a hammering in the back of his head, stabbing daggers in the small of his back, stinging palms, and raw throat. Robbie gasped and crumpled into a heap on the ground.

"Robbie, are you okay?"

Robbie cracked one eye open enough to squint up. Sportacus stood over him. Sportacus, in the flesh, the blue menace. The man's brow was knitted up in concern as he leaned over Robbie. Robbie looked down at himself. He was himself, and it _hurt_.

"What… did you _do_ to me?" Robbie asked through clenched teeth.

"I had a few accidents while I was you," Sportacus confessed, but that was all he offered by way of apology. The home-again hero said nothing as he took hold of the headband and slid it off of Robbie's head. Robbie let him do it. He didn't have the energy to resist, nor did he put up a fight when Sportacus took the ray gun out of his limp hand. Sportacus tucked both parts of the device under one arm. He continued to look at Robbie, his brow furrowing deeper into a stern expression.

"Robbie Rotten, you caused a lot of trouble today."

"Am I on trial now?" Robbie asked. The kids had crept closer after the ray gun went off. They stood behind Sportacus, backing him up. Robbie gave them all a passing glance before he had to look away from their united front. He cleared a lump out of his throat. "I was only playing, can't a man have a bit of fun?"

"Fun?" Stephanie put her hands on her hips. "You shot all of our sports equipment halfway across town."

"And you stole my car," Stingy griped, "and then you were going to throw it at me!"

"I wasn't going to throw it _at_ you," Robbie protested, "I was going to throw it _over_ you." He forced himself to face them again in a desperate appeal. "Honest! I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. I may be a villain, but I'm not _that_ bad."

"You almost spun me out of orbit on the merry-go-round," Pixel said. He narrowed his eyes. "But worst of all, you launched Ziggy off the seesaw, and you didn't go after him."

"He could have been really hurt," Sportacus said, his eyes drilling into Robbie.

"I..." Robbie shrank under the piercing stare. "I didn't mean to. I mean, I wasn't trying to, I wouldn't..."

"But you did," Sportacus said, driving the point home.

"It wasn't all that bad, guys," Ziggy said. "I mean, now that it's over, it was kind of fun."

"Would you do it again?" Trixie asked. Ziggy shuffled his feet.

"Um. Probably not."

The weight of their eyes pressed down on Robbie. His head sank between his shoulders. "Well," he muttered, "being Sportacus may have gone to my head, and I didn't know my own strength, it's not like I meant for anything bad to happen. I guess, I mean, I'm… I'm s-so-r—"

His tongue was thick in his mouth and choked him on his own words. Was an apology good for anything in this blue kangaroo court where everything he said was taken as an admission of guilt? Of course he was guilty. The knowledge throbbed in the center of his chest where there was no crystal to comfort him.

"Sorry," he seethed through his teeth, more of a hiss than spoken word, spitting it out like venom.

The kids exchanged glances among themselves. Sportacus never once took his eyes off of Robbie. The deep wrinkle in his brow let up only a little bit.

"Do you really mean that, Robbie?" he asked. Robbie shot a glare at him.

"What do I have to do, spell it out for you?"

The hint of a grin touched the corner of Sportacus' mouth before relaxing. "Doing a few things around town might not be a bad place to start."

"You can pick up all of the sports equipment that you threw around," Stephanie said.

"I guess," Robbie grumbled.

"And fix my car," Stingy said.

"Fine," Robbie sighed.

"How's he supposed it make it up to Ziggy?" Pixel asked. "He can't undo that."

"Why not let Ziggy use the ray gun on him?" Trixie suggested, turning everyone's heads. "Robbie wouldn't be able to cause much trouble if he was Ziggy for a day." Ziggy's eyes widened as the idea dawned on him and his face lit up.

"Wow, could I? That would be so cool!"

"It would?" Stingy cast a critical eye on Robbie. "Cooler than being me?"

"If I was Robbie for a day I could do all kinds of things only adults can do in LazyTown," Ziggy said, already bouncing with excitement.

"Like what?" Stingy asked, eyes narrowed.

"Like… run for mayor, or drive the bulldozer!"

Stingy's eyes widened. " _I_ want to do that."

Robbie sat frozen on the ground while the kids debated Trixie's proposal. Get zapped with the Mind-Me-Matic again, only this time to change places with some wild child? The blood drained from his face and made him lightheaded. The kids looked up to Sportacus, waiting for him to cast his judgment.

Sportacus shook his head. "Sorry, guys, but I can't go along with that idea. No one should use this machine on anyone else against their will."

"Can we at least use it on each other?" Trixie asked. "Not that I want to be Stingy again. But I'd trade places with you, Ziggy, if you wanted to for a while."

"You would? Oh, Sportacus, can we, please?" Ziggy aimed an eager and pleading face at the blue suited man. Sportacus shifted his stance, adjusting his hold on the Mind-Me-Matic.

"Maybe later," he said. "For now, I think there's been enough excitement around here." He waved towards the path out of the clearing, back through Lazy Woods. "All of you should head back to town before it gets any later. It's been a long day."

The kids drifted out of the clearing. Ziggy and Trixie ran ahead of the rest discussing the possibilities of what they could do if the mayor agreed to let them use the ray gun on him, and how they would run LazyTown for a day. Pixel was the last to leave.

"If you want I can take the machine back to my house," Pixel offered to Sportacus. The man shook his head and smiled at the boy.

"It's okay, Pixel, I've got it. Go on with the others."

Pixel trudged off after Stingy and Stephanie, sparing a final squinty look at Robbie. The two men were left alone in the clearing. Robbie shifted on the ground, moving to get on his feet with painstaking effort.

"Hold on, Robbie," Sportacus said before he'd even managed to stand up straight. Robbie flinched and glowered.

"Is there something else?" Robbie growled. "You got your body back and I'm stuck doing community service. What more could you want?"

"I could use some help picking up all these mail tubes," Sportacus said, gesturing around them.

With a large net from the airship they set to scooping all of the canisters together. Robbie worked in a fuming silence, save for the occasional hiss through his teeth for the strain put on his back and his aching muscles. He avoided looking at Sportacus as much as possible so as not to give him the satisfaction.

It didn't help how slow Sportacus was being about it. The blue clad man refused to put down the Mind-Me-Matic and was working with only one arm. He seemed to be doing a lot more watching than working, actually, and one of Robbie's sidelong glares caught the man outright staring at him.

"What is it now?" Robbie demanded.

Sportacus looked away and picked up some more mail tubes. "It's nothing, really."

"Doesn't sound like nothing," Robbie muttered.

"I was just thinking," Sportacus said, "you must have been really active while you were me, to do all of those things that the kids said."

"I… guess," Robbie said. What was he getting at? Sportacus chuckled.

"Actually, I haven't felt this worn out in a long time. You gave me a real workout."

Robbie didn't know what to say. Was Sportacus joking with him after everything that had happened? It hadn't been so long ago that the elf had been bearing down on Robbie with a humbling bout of fury. He'd spent a day running around inside the man's body, but the Mind-Me-Matic still had given him no insight into Sportacus' head.

"I really wasn't trying to hurt anybody," Robbie blurted out. "I was so strong when I was you, and I could do all these things I never could before, it was just so— fun."

Sportacus glanced back at Robbie in surprise. "You liked being me?"

Robbie rolled his eyes while the heat rose in his face. "Don't flatter yourself, Sportaloon. Of course it was nice to be the big strong super hero. I'm sure all of those kids would jump at the chance to switch places with you if you'd let them." He pointed his face at the ground, swatting canisters into the net. "Better than being some creaky old villain. You saved that kid some trouble, that's for sure. No one in their right mind would want to be me..."

"Being you wasn't that bad," Sportacus said.

"Oh yeah?" Robbie gave a noncommittal grunt. "Name one good thing about it." Sportacus didn't answer. After several quiet seconds Robbie looked back over at the other man. "Can't think of anything, can you?" he asked. What he saw in the other man's face startled him back into silence.

Was Sportacus _blushing?_

"Actually," Sportacus said, now being the one to keep his face pointed carefully down at their work, "I wouldn't mind switching places with you again for a day, as long as you promised not to get so carried away next time. I mean, if you wanted to."

Robbie stared at him. What could Sportacus have possibly done while in Robbie's body that gave him any desire to do it again? He'd fallen in a hole and ran until his lungs were ragged, and by the pain in his tailbone he'd managed to bang himself up in plenty of other ways too. All things considered Robbie had been far more responsible with Sportacus' body than Sportacus had been with his. Sportacus licked his lips and cleared his throat.

"Boy, I'm starving. You didn't eat anything today, did you, Robbie? There's plenty of sportscandy on the airship, you know."

"I don't like sportscandy," Robbie said flatly. He'd had to suffer one bite of an apple after first using the Mind-Me-Matic on Sportacus and knocking the both of them out. Of course the apple had tasted sweet with Sportacus' tongue, but that didn't make it any more desirable to Robbie. An apple couldn't compare to the velvety richness of a bar of chocolate or the tangy sweetness of saltwater taffy.

He'd been craving a piece of cake before, but now all Robbie could think about was chocolate and taffy… taffy, taffy, taffy!

"I guess," Robbie mumbled, "if you really wanted to, we could..."

Sportacus peeked at him out of the corner of one eye, his face still red. He held out the pieces of the Mind-Me-Matic to Robbie with a grin.

"This belongs to you. You should have it back, and decide what you want to do with it."

Robbie accepted the device. For the briefest moment he considered throwing it to the ground and jumping up and down on it until it was nothing but scraps and screws. Then the moment passed and he stuffed the headband into his vest and tucked the ray gun under his arm.

"I won't be deciding anything today. I could use a long hot soak."

Sportacus laughed. "You read my mind."

They finished picking up the mail tubes. Sportacus hauled the bulging net up and slung it over one shoulder so that it would drag behind him.

"Let's get these back to town, and you can start picking up all that sports equipment," Sportacus said.

"Terrific," Robbie said without any enthusiasm.

"I can help you," Sportacus said. "But first I've got to go to Bessie's house. I was supposed to help the mayor do some housework today before all of this happened."

"Oh," Robbie said. "I think it'd be best if you avoid the Busybody and the mayor for the rest of the day."

Sportacus shot a curious look his way. "How come?"

"Well, I sort of… _saved_ the mayor earlier today."

"Really?" Sportacus raised his eyebrows. "Robbie, that's great! And here I thought you only caused trouble today. I'm sure the mayor's grateful to you, good job."

"Yeeaah," Robbie dragged out the sound through his guilty grin. "No need to thank me. All in a day's work."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo, it's the end! I am considering writing a couple one-shots to hit on some other jokes and things that didn't make it into this story. Otherwise I hope you had fun, thank you for reading. :]


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